Unrequited
by Kamikoko
Summary: Continuation of Silence and In the Early Dawn Light. Book AU with some references to the musical. Elphaba and Galinda have finally become friends, but what they don't realize is that something much stronger than that is building... Unrequited Gelphie.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N**: Alright – so this is the official multi-chapter continuation of my two Unrequited Gelphie oneshots: Silence and In the Early Dawn Light! YAY!

A **big** thank you goes out to swordsrock, my awesome beta reader. You inspired a lot of the new ideas I got for the story! You rock!

Well, I hope that this turns out as good as the oneshots – enjoy y'all!

**Warning**: Just in case you haven't read those two of my oneshots, I highly recommend that you do – it will greatly enhance your reading experience, but will not hinder your understanding of the story (that much) if you haven't read the oneshots.

**Disclaimer**: I don't own Wicked. I do own a lot of other Wicked-related merchandise though!

**------------ Unrequited ------------**

Sleep came slowly to the two girls, each lost in the private worlds of their minds:

_I don't deserve her._

_I'm going to tell her._

_She'd never accept me._

_She's amazing._

_I'm just too different._

_I love how unique she is._

_I'm green…she's popular._

_Her skin is beautiful._

_It just wouldn't work._

_I know that it would work._

At long last, after heated battles within themselves, both Galinda and Elphaba were asleep, peacefully dreaming for a few hours before the green girl, early riser that she was, would awaken.

Elphaba stirred in her bed, her acute internal clock telling her that it was time to get up for classes.

The thing was, today was Saturday. There were no classes.

Mentally cursing her internal clock, she quietly pulled down the covers of her bed and stood up. She glanced towards Galinda's side of the room, and watched the blonde for a few moments.

_She's looks so peaceful…_Elphaba thought, watching Galinda as she turned over under the pink covers of her bed.

The green girl sighed quietly and busied herself getting ready for the day, which didn't take very long, then settled herself in a chair to read while Galinda slept.

A few hours later, the blonde slowly stirred and sat up in her bed.

"'Morning, Elphie," she yawned, getting out of bed to get ready for some social gathering she was going to attend that day.

Galinda went into their bathroom and emerged almost an hour later, primped and perky as ever.

"Alright…well I'm going to get going now," she said, checking herself in the mirror one last time. Galinda looked over at the green girl, quietly reading in a chair beside the empty fireplace.

_She looks so lonely…_she thought, watching her roommate's dark eyes dart across the pages of the book she had in her hands.

_She's always reading…she hardly ever goes out except for classes…Does she even have any friends besides me? _the blonde wondered, tilting her head as she observed the green girl. She softly bit her lip as an idea formed in her head.

Elphaba looked up from her book for a moment to find Galinda staring at her with her head slightly tilted and biting her lip.

"May I help you with something?" she asked, cocking an eyebrow at the blonde.

Galinda smiled as the idea was completely formed. It was perfect.

"Yeah…" the blonde said, bouncing over to where Elphaba was sitting, and perching herself on the arm of the chair. "I was thinking that _you_ should come with me!"

Elphaba closed her book and looked at her roommate uncertainly.

"Galinda, do you realize what you just said?" she asked the blonde calmly.

"Why, yes," Galinda replied matter-of-factly, "I do. I said that I think you should come with me to meet my friends."

"Galinda, really. You want _me_," Elphaba gestured to her frock-clad green-skinned self, "to come with _you_," she gestured to the pretty pink and popular girl that sat on the arm of her chair, "to meet your friends – who, may I add, hate me."

"Exactly!" the blonde replied, nodding vigorously.

"Do you realize how socially damaging this could be to your reputation?" the green girl asked.

"Yup, and I don't care," Galinda told her roommate, putting a hand on her shoulder. "You're my friend, Elphie. I could never be ashamed of you."

Elphaba looked up at the blonde, silently searching for the truth in her eyes. And she found it.

Galinda really meant what she was saying.

The green girl sighed, "Alright, you win. I'll go."

Galinda squealed in delight.

"Yay! Elphie, we're going to have so much fun!" she jumped off the arm of Elphaba's chair and stood in front of her happily. "We're going to go walking in the park, then have a late brunch. After that, we're going out to dinner, and then a karaoke bar!"

The blonde girl clapped when she said the last part, and grabbed Elphaba's arm, tugging her off the chair and towards the door.

"That's a lot to do in one day…" Elphaba commented as her roommate dragged her out of their room.

"Well, we _have_ been planning it for quite some time now," Galinda said with a smile as they walked down the hallway towards the doors leading outside.

"Are you sure that you're friends won't mind me coming?"

"Oh, they'll mind."

Elphaba started to protest her going once more, but Galinda shushed her.

"Don't worry, Elphie! I'll make this work!"

"Galinda…" the green girl said, pulling her arm away from the blonde.

"Elphie, really. I'll make this work."

Elphaba wanted to protest again, but something told her to just be quiet and go. This was a chance to spend time with Galinda.

"Alright…" the green girl relented, following her roommate out of their dormitory building.

"Good!" Galinda said, leading the green girl towards the park.

_I just hope that everything works out right; _she thought as they quietly walked together into what Galinda knew would be the Lion's Den for Elphaba. _I hope my plan works..._


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N**: I'm so sorry for the long update wait time, I know, I know…it's been like FOREVER - but I have a reason!

I was REALLY wrapped up in summer school...speech and debate.

Our coach suddenly decided that we had to perform our speeches for a practice tournament which he gauged how much we had worked all month.

But yeah…I hope that you all can forgive me. o.o

For now, I come bearing the gift of a new chapter! I hope it's to everyone's liking, and I hope y'all enjoy it!

**Disclaimer**: I don't own Wicked. I do own a lot of other Wicked-related merchandise though!

**------------ Unrequited ------------**

Galinda made meaningless small-talk with the green girl as they made their way to the park outside of Shiz.

Soon, they were within sight of the blonde's friends, and Galinda waved hugely.

Her friends waved back, but Elphaba could see them lose their enthusiasm when they caught sight of her.

"C'mon Elphie!" Galinda said, pulling the green girl's arm, who reluctantly followed towards the blonde's friends.

The group of students were all looking at Galinda with horror in their eyes. Elphaba knew what they were thinking: Why in Oz did Galinda bring _her_?

"Um…Galinda," said one of the girls, Pfannee, if Elphaba's memory served her correctly, "Can I talk with you for a moment?"

"Certainly, Pfannee," Galinda said, giggling after realizing that her statement rhymed.

Pfannee gently pulled Galinda away from the group, and the _green _girl. Once they were out of earshot, Pfannee said, as calmly as she could, "Galinda, _what_ in Oz were you thinking?"

"I'm sure I don't know what you mean, Pfannee." Galinda replied coolly.

The other girl shook her head looked the blonde in the eye. "You brought _her _with you. What in Oz were you thinking?" she repeated.

"I was thinking," Galinda said, returning Pfannee's gaze, "that Elphie is my friend, and all of you are my friends. And that this is a gathering of friends. Thus, Elphie should be included."

Pfannee looked at Galinda quizzically. _Elphie…?_ She shook her head and returned to her assault.

"But Galinda…she's _green_."

"There will be no more discussion of this Pfannee, she is my friend. It's either you take the both of us, or you don't take either of us." Galinda said the last part with a commanding tone that surprised the other girl.

With that, Galinda walked back towards the group, ending the discussion.

Pfannee stood silently, watching as Galinda rejoined the group…and that _green _girl. _What just happened here? _she wondered, slowly following behind the blonde.

Elphaba watched as Galinda walked back towards the group, a stunned Pfannee following behind. _She must have given that girl a good talking-to…_she chuckled quietly.

Galinda's other friends began to question her bringing Elphaba as well, but Pfannee shushed them, quietly telling them what Galinda told her.

"Alright…well we'd better get going," another girl, ShenShen, Elphaba believed was her name, murmured.

Galinda's friends walked so that they were in front of Elphaba and Galinda, who had her arm linked with the aforementioned girl's.

Elphaba looked down at the blonde ball of energy linked to her arm and frowned a bit.

"Galinda…I don't think that I should be here," she said, looking ahead to the whispering mass of Galinda's friends in front of them, "I don't belong here."

The blonde girl stopped walking for a moment and looked up at Elphaba.

"I'm going to tell you what I told Pfannee: they are my friends, and you are my friend. This is a gathering of my friends, and thusly you belong here."

"Galinda…"

"Elphaba. You belong here." The blonde girl smiled, starting to walk again.

The green girl walked alongside Galinda unsurely.

_They hate me…how can she say I belong here? …Why does she want me here anyway? We completely hated each other not too long ago…_

Elphaba sighed, giving up on figuring out Galinda's reasoning.

"We're here," the blonde on her arm said softly. Elphaba looked up and saw that they had, indeed, arrived at a small café in the outer area of the park.

When they entered, the two girls saw that Galinda's friends had already claimed an area in the back corner of the café.

The pair made their way back, claiming seats next to each other.

After they ordered, the group talked quietly as they waited for their food. Elphaba remained quiet, only speaking when spoken to.

She could feel Galinda's friends' eyes burning holes in her skin as they glared at her.

When their food arrived, they ate, chattering amongst themselves. Elphaba still remained quiet, maintaining her speak-when-spoken-to-policy for the day.

Galinda sadly watched as her friends threw dirty looks Elphaba's way.

_What more can I do aside from scolding them? _she wondered as the waiter came with their check.

After the bill was paid, the group left the café, meandering their way towards the restaurant they were to eat dinner at hours later.

Elphaba began to relax as she noticed the burning looks coming her way less and less as the day went on.

Soon enough, she was actually enjoying herself, laughing and talking with Galinda, mostly.

That is, she was enjoying herself until the group turned on her and Galinda suddenly, with Pfannee and ShenShen leading the "revolution".

"Galinda," Pfannee began, eyeing Elphaba carefully, "We've gone along with your little game long enough."

The blonde girl beside Elphaba calmly replied, "What ever do you mean?"

"We mean we've gone along with your whole, 'Elphaba's my friend, she belongs here' routine for as long as we can stand," ShenShen said coolly, also shooting daggers in the green girl's direction.

Galinda felt Elphaba tense beside her.

"Routine? It is no routine, Miss ShenShen," she responded just as coldly. "Elphaba _is_ my friend, and I truly believe she belongs here."

"Oh, give it up Galinda!" ShenShen cried, "You hate her just as much as we do! Or at least you did until just a short while ago…what _happened_ to you?"

Galinda looked ShenShen in the eye. "What happened to me is that I saw what a truly kind person Elphaba is. It was wrong to judge her!"

"Whatever the case is – it boils down to this, Galinda. It's us, or Miss _Elphaba_," Pfannee spat out Elphaba's name.

The two girls and Galinda stared each other down angrily.

Elphaba watched this transpire before her in horror.

She knew it.

She didn't belong here…her mere presence was bringing up an argument between Galinda and her friends.

A horrible feeling in the pit of her stomach, Elphaba turned and ran away from the group.

She ran for as long as she could before she collapsed on the ground beside a tree, exhausted.

_Why? Why does Galinda continue to deal with me?_ the green girl wondered. _I only bring conflict and hatred…_

Elphaba leaned against the tree and pulled her knees to her chest.

_I don't belong…I've never belonged._


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N**: Wow…has it really been over two weeks since my last update?

I'm so, SO sorry! But…honestly I had a hard time writing this chapter. And again, my beta reader swordsrock salvaged this chapter from the deep fiery pits of horrible grammar hell.

Anyhow, I'm sorry for the long update wait, and I'll try to get the next chapter up by next Monday!

I promise.

Enjoy, y'all.

**Disclaimer**: I don't own Wicked. I do own a lot of other Wicked-related merchandise though!

**------------ Unrequited ------------**

"Elphie…" Galinda said quietly, concern apparent in her voice as she watched the green girl run deeper into the park.

"Finally, she's _gone_," Shenshen huffed, flipping her hair. "Now we can actually have fun."

She and Pfannee giggled evilly, very proud of how they got rid of the green abomination.

Galinda looked on towards where Elphaba had run off to long after the green girl was out of sight.

She was brought out of her concerned state by Shenshen and Pfannee's escalating obnoxious laughter.

Galinda turned and looked Pfannee dead in the eye, anger apparent in her gaze.

"You said it was either you or her," she said coldly, narrowing her eyes. The blonde switched her gaze to Shenshen. "And I choose her."

"W-what?" Pfannee stuttered, shocked at Galinda's reaction.

"I choose…Elphaba," Galinda repeated.

She turned on her heel and walked in the same direction Elphaba had run off in.

_The _nerve_ of Pfannee and Shenshen!_ Galinda steamed silently. _Making me choose like that…and speaking so ill of Elphie! Those two are always like this…I hope that she's alright. _

Her anger quickly gave way to worry as she began to search for her roommate in the massiveness of the park.

The blonde lost all train of thought when she caught sight of something black and green leaning against a tree a few feet off the path.

Elphaba.

She approached the green girl quietly, and sat down beside her.

"Elphie…" she said softly, putting her hand on her roommate's shoulder. "I'm so sorry."

The green girl flinched at Galinda's touch. The blonde withdrew her hand.

Elphaba looked up at her roommate, and the blonde gasped.

There were pinkish-purple streaks on her cheeks…tear marks. Elphaba had been crying, something that Galinda had almost never seen her do, or seen evidence of.

"I'm so sorry…" the blonde repeated, her throat tight. "I never meant for them to hurt you. I just wanted you to get along…I just wanted you to feel loved…and –"

The green girl put her fingers up to Galinda's lips to silence her, and the blonde obliged.

Elphaba remained quiet and just stared into Galinda's eyes. She was searching for something – some shred of truth to her words…

"Why, Galinda..?" she whispered, maintaining her gaze. "Why do you try so hard to get me to fit in?"

She was of course referring to Galinda's failed attempts to make Elphaba "popular".

"Because," the blonde said softly, wiping away the newly formed tears from Elphaba's eyes, "you're my Elphie…I just want you to be happy."

Elphaba continued to silently gaze into Galinda's eyes.

"Because," Galinda continued, "you are the best friend I've ever had…"

"Oh please," the green girl quietly protested, "you have plenty of friends. Pfannee, ShenShen…"

Shaking her head, the blonde gently interjected, "Friends? Those people aren't my friends…they are just the people I hang out with because of their social standing."

"Social standing," Elphaba said with a weak bite of her signature sarcasm.

"Yes…they are the kinds of people I was taught to socialize with."

Galinda paused, thinking of how to articulate what she wanted to say next.

"But with my social standing I can find those kinds of 'friends' a dime a dozen…but you, Elphaba Thropp, are something special…"

Elphaba looked up at Galinda, a questioning look in her eyes.

"But why?"

The blonde girl smiled, continuing to wipe away the tears of her roommate, trying to figure out how to answer the green girl's question.

After a short silence, Galinda suddenly knew how to answer Elphaba's question.

"Because…you are the only person who hangs out with me just for who I am, not socializing with me because of my social status…"

The green girl chuckled softly, "You do remember that we were forced together as roommates."

"Yes, I do remember. And I'm glad we were…Elphaba, you are the only friend I've ever had that has ever truly mattered to me.

Galinda's words struck a chord with Elphaba.

_You are the only friend I've ever had that has truly mattered to me._

Galinda said that she had mattered to her. _Mattered_…as in having had affected her roommate's life for the better.

Also…she had also mentioned the word _friend_. Galinda considered her a friend.

Elphaba was deep in thought about the blonde's last remark, and Galinda was noticing that the clouds were getting dark. It looked like it was going to rain soon.

"Shall we go?" she asked the green girl quietly, rising and holding out her hand to Elphaba.

Elphaba nodded silently, and took the hand that was offered to her, slowly getting to her feet.

After helping her roommate up, Galinda suggested going back to the dormitory, to which Elphaba silently agreed.

The two girls began to walk towards the dorm buildings in silence.

Elphaba stole a glance at Galinda, and she noticed that the blonde was on edge about something.

She looked up, and the green girl followed suit. The clouds were dark, heavy with rain.

_So that's what Galinda is so worked up about, _Elphaba thought with a bemused smile. _She's concerned about my little water allergy…She's really does care about me._

She opened the door to their room for the blonde and let her roommate enter first before letting herself in.

Galinda uttered quiet thanks and made her way to her bed.

Elphaba nodded in reply, and made her way to her desk to work on something – anything to take her mind off of what just happened…


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N**: YAY! I kept my promise! (Barely…it's almost nine' o'clock. XD)

But the chapter is up! So yeah…it's a pretty calm chapter.

Enjoy.

**Disclaimer**: I don't own Wicked. I do own a lot of other Wicked-related merchandise though!

**------------ Unrequited ------------**

After a few minutes of silence, the green girl heard, "Elphaba?"

She turned around and saw Galinda sitting on her bed, looking down into her hands.

"Yes, Galinda?"

The blonde looked up and motioned for her to come sit next to her on the bed. Elphaba hesitated, unsure if she could deal with being so close to Galinda.

"Elphie, please?" the blonde begged softly, her big blue eyes staring into Elphaba's dark ones; a small pout playing its way across her lips.

The green girl, unable to resist Galinda's pout, relented and rose from her desk, making her way towards the blonde.

Elphaba situated herself on the soft pink mass that was Galinda's bed, away from Galinda, but not so far so that the blonde would suspect something.

"Elphie…I really am sorry about what happened…" she said quietly.

"Galinda, we already went through this," Elphaba interrupted. "You're sorry and I'm…I'm…"

"You're…what?" Galinda gently prodded.

The green girl remained silent and looked away from her roommate. Her eyes scanned the room, as though the answer were hidden away somewhere among all of her books and Galinda's knick-knacks…

"Elphie?"

Elphaba looked back at Galinda and sighed, "Confused. I'm confused."

"About what?" the blonde inquired, watching her roommate's expression carefully.

"I don't know. I just don't know…" Elphaba murmured, which gave Galinda just the jolt she needed to push her roommate to tell her what was going on.

"Yes. You do, Elphie…you just don't want to tell me." The blonde stated bluntly.

Elphaba was taken aback by the brashness of Galinda's statement and was speechless.

"I don't know what's going on with you," she continued, her voice growing gentler with each word, "but I do plan on finding out," she began to scoot closer to Elphaba until her face was mere inches away from the green girl's, "whenever you're ready to tell me."

A smirk played its way across the blonde's lips before she pulled back into a normal talking position.

Elphaba's eyes were wide with shock that Galinda would dare venture that close to her face. What shocked her more was that she was able to restrain herself enough to carry on the act of "just being friends"…

The two remained silent for a long while, Elphaba contemplating the events that had just occurred, and Galinda hoping that her plan was working.

_After all, no matter what happens…she'll always be my Elphie…_she thought, patiently waiting for the green girl to respond in some way.

After another long pause, Elphaba finally spoke.

"It's not that I don't want to tell you…" she said quietly, looking down at her hands as she spoke.

"Then what is it?" Galinda gently began to prod Elphaba to continue.

"Maybe…maybe it's just that I'm afraid."

"Of what?"

"I'm afraid…of the fact that I'm going through what I'm going through… And of the fact that this is an all-new experience for me… And afraid of…what you might think." The green girl answered after another long silence.

Galinda raised Elphaba's chin with her hand, and looked into her eyes. What she saw was confusion, exhaustion, and most of all…fear.

"You're not ready to tell me yet," the blonde resolved, releasing the green girl's chin. "And that's okay. I'll wait."

Elphaba looked at her roommate gratefully, but remained quiet.

Galinda smiled, and looked over at the clock they had hung above the bathroom door.

"Look at the time…we sure spent a lot of time talking," she said, breaking the silence between them. She looked at her roommate carefully. "Do you want to go get something to eat?"

The green girl looked up at her, and then at the clock. Galinda was right; the time had surely flown by. When they'd first come up to the room it was only quarter to three. Now it was almost seven' o'clock.

Apparently those long silences had been longer than they thought.

"Sure…I am getting sort of hungry." Elphaba answered.

"Alright…well, it's much too late to go to the dining hall…dinner was almost two hours ago… Perhaps we could go anyways, and see if the food is still out…"

"I know of a small student-run café on the other end of the campus," the green girl said, interrupting the blonde's discussion with herself.

Galinda looked at Elphaba in surprise.

"It's usually open until nine' o'clock."

"Alright," the blonde smiled. "We'll go there then!"

Just then, she glanced out the window. "But, Elphie…it looks like it might rain again. What about your skin?"

"It's pretty clear right now," her roommate replied, following Galinda's gaze out the window, "but if it makes you feel better, I'll bring my cloak just in case. I'll be fine."

"Are you sure?" Galinda asked, concern apparent in her voice.

Despite her still being confused, a small smile graced Elphaba's lips.

"Yes, Galinda. I'll be fine. C'mon, let's get going before it gets any later."

She got up and put her heavy black cloak around her, then waited as Galinda went into the bathroom to quickly reapply her makeup.

Fifteen minutes later, the blonde bounced out of the bathroom.

"Ready!" she squeaked.

Elphaba smiled, and held open the door for her roommate, who bounced on through, then followed the blonde out of the dormitory building.

"Okay, Elphie, lead the way to the café!" Galinda said enthusiastically, taking the green girl's arm.

Elphaba complied with the blonde's enthusiastic order, and walked the girl towards the other side of campus down a path that Galinda had never been on before.

"You know," she said, breaking the silence that her roommate had created, "I didn't even know we had a student-run café."

"It's run by some of the culinary students from our school," the green girl replied.

Galinda stopped walking for a minute and looked at Elphaba in wonder.

"We have culinary classes at this school?"

Elphaba chuckled, "Yes, we do. We have very few, though. It's a new program at Shiz, I think."

"Oh," Galinda replied, before squealing in delight, "Elphie – is that the café?"

Elphaba looked up from the blonde and saw that indeed they had arrived at the café. It was a small restaurant, brightly painted, with many lights sparkling along the edge of the roof.

"Yes, it is."

"It's so pretty, with all the lights!"

The green girl chortled at her friend's amusement with the lights.

"Yes, well the students do know what attracts fellow student customers."

Galinda was still entranced by the lights.

"Come on, let's get a table outside."


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N**: And here's chapter five. I'm so glad that you all are enjoying this story…I am most definitely enjoying writing it.

So yeah…

Chapter Five – enjoy y'all.

**Disclaimer**: I don't own Wicked. I do own a lot of other Wicked-related merchandise though!

**------------ Unrequited ------------**

"Miss Elphaba, so nice to see you here again," the two girls were greeted by a tall young man, a student that Galinda could recall seeing around campus.

"Hello, Sakon," Elphaba replied.

Sakon looked over at Galinda and smiled, taking her hand to kiss. "And who is this lovely young lady accompanying you?"

Galinda giggled at the man's compliment, and Elphaba rolled her eyes at the charm Sakon had slapped on due to the blonde's presence.

"Sakon, this is my roommate, and best friend, Galinda Upland," the green girl said. "And Galinda, this is Sakon Harumit, one of the co-owners of the café."

"Pleased to make your acquaintance, Miss Upland," Sakon said politely.

"Likewise, I'm sure," Galinda replied.

The waiter smiled. "Now would you ladies like a table inside or outside?"

"Outside, please," Elphaba said. "My usual table, if it is available."

Sakon nodded, and led them to a small table on the back corner of the terrace overlooking the road to town.

The terrace was decorated with the same lights as the café, giving it a heavenly glow to accompany the candlelight by which the tables were lit.

"Here we are, ladies. I'll be back in a bit to take your orders," Sakon said, slipping away into the café.

"Your 'usual' table?" Galinda questioned as they sat down at their out of the way table.

"I came here a lot at the beginning of the school year," the green girl said simply, shrugging.

"Oh," Galinda replied, delighted to know that this must have been where Elphaba had spent a lot of her time that wasn't spent in the library.

"Well then…what do you suggest we order? Since you came here so much before," the blonde continued, picking up one of the menus Sakon had left at their table.

"They have a fairly large menu, for a student-run business," Elphaba said, picking up the remaining menu. "I usually order vegetable stew or their specialty herbed vegetables with pasta."

"Wow, they do have a large menu…" Galinda said as she looked over the choices.

After a few minutes, Sakon reappeared from inside the café, "Are we ready ladies?" He asked.

"Yes, we are, thank you Sakon," Elphaba said after taking Galinda's signal that she was ready to order.

"The specialty pasta and a glass of milk for you, Miss Elphaba?" Sakon asked, assuming that the green girl would have her usual dinner.

Elphaba nodded in agreement, passing on the ordering to Galinda.

"Um, I'll have the same," the blonde said, "but instead of milk, could I have some lemon tea?"

"Certainly," the waiter replied, going to fetch their drinks.

"I'll be back with your meals soon." He said when he returned, setting down Elphaba's milk and Galinda's tea on the tabletop.

The two girls chimed their thanks to Sakon as he retreated once more into the café.

"It seems like the sky's cleared up a bit…" Galinda said, taking a sip of her tea.

Elphaba glanced up at the sky. "Yes, it looks like it has. I think I'll take off my cloak; it's getting pretty hot."

She slipped out of the heavy black cloak and laid it over the back of her chair.

Galinda was entranced by Elphaba's skin.

In the candlelight and moonlight, it was a luminous shade of jade, the paleness of the color contrasting well with her dark hair.

She'd never seen her roommate looking so…beautiful.

Galinda tried to shake this notion. She had been thinking these sorts of thoughts for a while now, but had still yet to fully accept their meaning.

She knew what they meant, and she tried to act upon them, yet Galinda felt that acting upon something, and truly believing something were two completely different things.

Elphaba noticed Galinda staring at her, with a far-off look in her eyes, and cocked an eyebrow in amusement.

"What is it?" the green girl asked, bringing Galinda back from her spellbound state.

"Huh?" she said. "Oh…nothing…" The blonde looked into the steaming cup of her lemon tea to escape from Elphaba's eyes.

"Hmm," Elphaba grunted, skeptic that it really was "nothing", but she let it go.

Galinda continued to stare into her tea as Elphaba looked off into the distance in silence, until Sakon came with their meals.

"Ladies," he said as he placed their meals before them.

"Thank you, Sakon," Elphaba said, nodding to the waiter gratefully.

He gave them a smile and replied, "Enjoy."

The girls watched as he went back into the café before paying attention to their food.

They ate in silence, Galinda trying very hard to ignore her previous thoughts, and Elphaba beginning her own train of thought – beginning with the entrancing blonde before her.

Galinda's golden hair was shining exquisitely in the flickering candlelight, almost shimmering around the unmarred skin of her face.

_No wonder all the boys want her, _Elphaba observed, _she is very pretty…_

She, on the other hand, had always been a solitary sort of her own free will. Not that she'd have a choice otherwise, due to her green skin.

Yes…she'd always been an outcast, until Galinda had come into her life.

True, they'd had a rough start…but being with Galinda had changed Elphaba somehow. And she was afraid that if she were to ever lose Galinda, she would lose the change that she had set into motion.

Elphaba didn't want that to happen, because she was afraid of what she was before: a completely solitary girl, with not a friend in the world.

She didn't want to become that girl again.

The green girl sighed as she lifted a forkful of herbed vegetables and pasta to her lips.

The rest of the meal was finished in silence, neither girl speaking until Sakon came to give them their bill.

"Oh…" Galinda said, realizing that she had forgotten her purse. "Elphie I…"

"Don't worry about it," the green girl said. "I'll take care of it."

Elphaba took the bill and looked it over, before taking out that amount – plus a generous tip – from the pocket of her cloak.

"Thank you, Miss Elphaba," Sakon said, collecting the money and their dishes.

Elphaba got up from her chair, folding her cloak over one arm, and Galinda latching onto the other.

"I hope to see you ladies soon," the waiter called after them.

Galinda looked back and waved, answering for them both, "As do we." She smiled and looked back up at Elphaba.

"That was fun, Elphie. The café is nice," the blonde said.

"I'm glad you liked it," Elphaba replied, "it's nice to finally have someone to share it with."

She felt the girl on her arm stop walking, so she looked down at her friend. The blonde had a look of understanding in her eyes, and pushed herself a little bit closer to Elphaba.

"I'm glad you shared it with me," she murmured.

Elphaba was stunned by Galinda's bold move towards her. _Is this normal?_ She wondered, not knowing any better for herself.

_I suppose it is…Galinda is the very picture of normality. If she does it then…I guess it's right for me to do it too. _

With this reasoning in mind, Elphie unhooked their arms, and instead, put her arm around Galinda's waist, which the blonde eagerly leaned into.

The two walked together in blissful silence back to their room. Once inside, Elphaba took her arm from her roommate's waist, and made her way to the closet to put her cloak away, then went into the bathroom to ready herself for bed.

Galinda simply sat on her bed and waited for Elphaba to come out before bouncing her way into the bathroom herself.

After they both were ready, they slipped into their respective beds and put out the lights.

"Good night, Elphie," Galinda said quietly, turning on her side, facing the green girl.

Elphaba stayed on her back, staring at the ceiling. Everything that had happened in just one short day was running through her mind, over and over again.

So much had happened. But it wasn't all bad…there was a lot of good. She sighed.

"Good night, Galinda."


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N**: Dearly beloved…we gather here to say our goodbyes, to my beta reader, swordsrock. She was an amazing beta, but became too swamped with work to continue beta reading my work.

So, sadly I must announce that the beta spot for this story is open, if anyone is interested.

**Disclaimer**: I don't own Wicked. I do own a lot of other Wicked-related merchandise though!

**------------ Unrequited ------------**

Elphaba continued to stare at the ceiling for hours after she had wished Galinda goodnight, trying to sort through everything that had happened that day.

Galinda had invited her to go out with her friends.

That really wasn't that strange in itself, as her roommate, as of late, continually struggled to include her in all her social activities.

Of course, she usually refused, but today the blonde had been extra demanding that she come with her.

But why did Galinda want her to go so badly _today_?

Today was no different than any other Saturday social gathering. Just a group of Galinda's friend, and Galinda of course, getting together to gossip and chatter…

And then there was Galinda's actually _defending_ her against her friends.

_Well I suppose that one has a simple answer,_ Elphaba thought, rolling over on her side. _She _did _say I "mattered" to her. That could be why she defended me._

Maybe there was some truth to her roommate's statement about them actually being friends.

But what Elphaba still understood was why Galinda felt that she "mattered". She was sarcastic and mean, if not cruel…not to mention _green_.

What was there to like?

What was there to have made such an impression on Galinda that she would have significance in such a wonderfully popular girl's life?

The blonde had seemed to almost be Elphaba's keeper that day, defending her and guiding her through the day…

Sometimes Elphaba just couldn't help but to think that she didn't deserve to have Galinda as her friend.

But no matter how strongly Elphaba believed this, the blonde refused to believe it herself.

The green girl sighed. She failed to understand her roommate's reasoning now, and she highly doubted that she would anytime soon.

_I might as well get _some_ sleep tonight_, Elphaba thought, closing her eyes and drifting off to sleep after a few moments…and she began to dream.

_She found herself walking beside Galinda. They were on a pathway of some kind, one that Elphaba didn't recognize. She couldn't see where it led…it almost seemed endless._

Where am I?_ The green girl wondered, unfamiliar with the concept of dreaming. She felt the blonde beside her shift. _

_Elphaba turned her head, and found her roommate looking at her with a look in her eyes she had never seen before._

_Galinda stopped walking and pulled the green girl to a stop as well._

_She raised her hand to Elphaba's face and began to pull her close. The mere contact with the blonde made her face burn with a deep green blush._

Sweet Oz…_the green girl thought, her heart pounding hard in her chest as the space between them quickly shrank. _Oz…she's trying t-

_Her thoughts came to a halt as their lips made contact. _

_A gasp escaped Elphaba's lips as Galinda wrapped her arms around the green girl's neck. Elphaba was frozen; her arms limp at her sides in shock._

_Her body was in shock…of how good the kiss felt._

_It was unlike anything Elphaba had ever felt before. Soon her body began to relax, and movement was returned to her control._

_She put her arms around Galinda's waist, and began to kiss her back…_

_There was a strange feeling building up in the pit of her stomach…a good feeling, but strange all the same…_

What is this feeling…?_ She wondered_. Where is it coming from…?

Suddenly, Elphaba was brought back to the waking world as the burning feeling on her skin intensified – and she realized she was drenched with sweat.

She looked at her arms and saw her skin was developing a purplish tinge.

_Damn…_ Elphaba thought. She got out of bed and quietly made her way to the bathroom. She looked into the mirror and saw that her face was covered in purplish streaks.

She pulled a fairly large clear bottle from her shelf of oils – an aloe based oil to soothe burns from water – and pulled her nightdress off.

_A dream… It was just a dream… _the green girl thought, taking a slow, deep breath as she began to apply the oil to her skin. She sighed. _But it felt so real…_

She cringed, a soft gasp of pain escaping her as she began to apply the oil to her face. That is where the sweat had affected her the most.

Elphaba finished her application of the aloe oil to most of the affected areas on her body, except her back.

She couldn't reach it without her water-burned skin stretching into extremely painful positions.

The green girl sighed again, and stared at her naked green body in the mirror, examining the extent of the damage.

Galinda awoke, thinking that she had heard a sound from the bathroom.

The blonde looked over to Elphaba's bed and saw the green girl was missing. She made her way to the bathroom, the door to which was slightly open.

She heard gasps coming from inside the bathroom, and she saw through the crack of the door, her roommate.

The green girl's skin was covered with a purplish tinge, and splotches on her back.

_Sweet Oz…_

"Elphie…are you alright?" Galinda called softly, stepping into the bathroom and averting her gaze to the floor.

The green girl looked away from the mirror and saw Galinda standing in the doorway of the bathroom, looking away from her naked self.

"Galinda…" Elphaba said, surprised and embarrassed that her roommate had seen her naked.

She quickly tried to pull her nightdress back on, grunting slightly as the fabric slid over her burned skin.

"Elphie, stop," she heard the blonde say. "You're hurting yourself. What happened? Let me help you…"

"I'm fine, Galinda. I just had dream that made me sweat a little," she said.

"A little! Elphie look at you - your face and your back are all purple," Galinda said, moving towards the green girl, pulling the half-on nightdress off. "Is there any way I can help?"

Elphaba hissed slightly as the nightdress slid over her skin again, and gave in to the blonde.

"…that bottle…on the sink," she said quietly. "It's an aloe-based oil to soothe my water-burns."

Galinda nodded, understanding the unsaid instructions of her roommate and taking the oil in her hands before rubbing it on Elphaba's back – the only un-oiled part of the green girl's body at this point.

The green girl tried her hardest to not whimper or gasp as the blonde rubbed the oil over her skin, but it was difficult. She just tried to focus upon the gentleness of the blonde's touch.

But still, every so often, a sound of pain escaped her, which added to Galinda's concern.

Her eyes wandered from her job of rubbing the oil into Elphaba's back, over the green girl's shoulder.

She looked into the mirror at Elphaba's reflection. Her face showed the pain that she was trying so hard to hide from Galinda.

The blonde looked back at her hands working the oil into Elphaba's skin.

She'd never seen her roommate's burns this bad…what sort of dream could cause her cool-headed friend sweat so much?

Against her better judgment, she decided to ask her roommate about her dream.

"Elphie…what did you dream that distressed you so?" Galinda asked quietly, still rubbing oil over the green girl's extremely sensitive back.

Elphaba, usually composed – always having something to say…had nothing to say.

How could she answer her…without telling Galinda her secret?


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N**: Again with the long update wait-time…ugh. So sorry…but I'm so damn lost without my beta.

I had a harder time than I thought getting this chapter to come out the way I wanted.

Hope y'all like it.

**Disclaimer**: I don't own Wicked. I do own a lot of other Wicked-related merchandise though!

**------------ Unrequited ------------**

Elphaba looked at herself in the mirror and cursed silently, her roommate's question echoing in her head.

"_What did you dream that distressed you so?"_

The green girl didn't know how to respond.

How _could_ she respond?

The answer to Galinda's question was easy enough. She had dreamed of the two of them kissing.

And she had _liked_ it… Elphaba shivered partly due to her liking her dream of kissing Galinda – and partly because of the blonde's hands still rubbing warm oil onto her burned back.

But she couldn't tell the blonde that she liked it…not when their friendship had come so far. And she couldn't lie to her either.

It just didn't feel right.

So what _could_ she do then…?

"Elphie?" the blonde behind her had finished rubbing oil on her back and now locked gazes with the reflection of the green girl.

Elphaba looked into Galinda's eyes in the mirror, and saw true concern.

She could tell…Galinda really wanted to help her.

That definitely eased her fear, but it didn't destroy it completely.

"Galinda." The green girl said quietly, turning around and facing the blonde. "My dream…"

"Yes?" the blonde said gently after a long pause in her roommate's thoughts.

"Before I tell you what I dreamed, I just need to know…" she sighed, and looked up at Galinda. "Did you really mean what you said? When you found me in the park…?"

The blonde smiled and touched Elphaba's arm. "Every word."

Both Galinda's touch and her answer made the green girl flush.

Suddenly, she was very aware of her nakedness, and continued her explanation, stammering nervously.

"My dream…it…it was about…us." Elphaba began uncertainly, eyeing her nightdress on the floor behind Galinda.

"A dream…about us?" Galinda repeated, her hope and her curiosity piqued. But she didn't want to build her hopes up to high.

She sighed softly and continued.

"That's perfectly normal. Friends have dreams about friends every once and a while. Oz knows I've had dreams involving you."

The green girl remained quiet for a moment.

She considered what the last part of that statement could have meant, before continuing to explain her dream to Galinda.

"But that's the thing…in my dream; we were more…than…" Elphaba said quietly, her voice fading as she came closer to stating her point.

Galinda nodded knowingly and interrupted her roommate's nervous explanation.

She moved closer to the taller, green girl and hugged her gently, conscious of her friend's water-burnt skin.

Galinda rested her cheek on Elphaba's shoulder for a moment, simply holding her.

"I understand," the blonde whispered.

Elphaba stood transfixed, Galinda's arms wrapped around her neck.

They just stood like that, for a few moments – silent – until the blonde gently pulled away.

Galinda grinned at the green girl's shocked, if not dumbfounded expression, and picked up Elphaba's nightdress.

"Do you think your skin is okay enough to put this back on?" she asked, holding it out to her roommate.

Elphaba took the garment, grateful for a change of the subject, and slowly answered, "I think so."

She slipped it over her head, finding it slightly irritating but bearable.

When Galinda saw to it that Elphaba was dressed, she left the bathroom, allowing the green girl some time to herself.

After the blonde left the bathroom, Elphaba stepped backwards, slumping against the sink.

She slid down the side of the counter and crouched, leaning against it, her mind reeling in shock of what had just happened.

Soon enough, her mind steadied itself, and the green girl stared intently at the wall opposite her.

What did that hug _mean_?

The green girl couldn't comprehend it. Did it mean that Galinda felt the same way about her?

_It was just a hug though._ Elphaba reprimanded herself. _One hug doesn't mean that she feels the same way about me. _

_Friends give each other hugs…family…and lovers._

Elphaba sighed loudly, frustrated.

_But then again, what would I know about that? Friendship…love…companionship…_ the green girl reminded herself that she'd had no real friends before Galinda.

How would she know what a hug means?

How would she know if it meant understanding or love?

She had no experience with people prior to her roommate. None. But she couldn't help but feel that this was more than just friendship.

The green girl groaned quietly, getting even more frustrated.

_I'm just contradicting myself…repeating the same thoughts…_she told herself.

Elphaba sat there for a few more moments, still trying to comprehend the meaning behind Galinda's display of "affection".

She gave up before long, the effects of the day's events taking their toll on her and made her way into the room, to her bed.

Galinda wasn't asleep, but the green girl was too distracted to notice.

She lay there, eyes closed but her mind wide awake before opening her eyes and propping herself up to face her "sleeping" roommate.

"Galinda?"

The blonde remained quiet, not wanting to scare Elphaba out of what she wanted to say…what _Galinda_ hoped she would say.

Elphaba took a breath, hoping that what she wanted to say would come out.

"I…Thank you."

Galinda was disappointed, but didn't respond.

Elphaba lay back down and turned away from her roommate's side of the room, cursing herself for backing out of what could've been the only moment to "tell" Galinda…

"I love you…" She whispered into her pillow, as tears burned their way down her cheeks.


End file.
